Misconceptions: Cowboy Bebop?
by End-Timer
Summary: I'm alone or am I. Spike has left the Bebop but is it by his own will and who is this crazy girl who keeps following him around and why do Jet, Faye, and Edward seem so mad?
1. Take Care Spike.

Hi readers! I just wanted to let you know that three people wrote this story, so you might notice three different writing styles as you read. Anyway, I just thought I'd tell you. Hope you like the fic ^_^ 

Take Care Spike!

Spike sat on a stool drinking his fifth bloody Mary at the Blue Mountain bar. After gulping the drink down, he waved for the old bartender to give him another. "Don't you think you had enough there son," the bartender asked. Spike was about to make a rude reply, but for some reason the look on the old bartenders face made him stop. "Yeah, I guess your right," Spike said getting up and pulling some money out of his pocket, which he then handed it to the bartender. Spike headed toward the exit, but stop at the sound of the bartender calling his name. "Yeah?" 

"Take care of yourself there sonny," the old bartender said with a smile." And with that Spike walked out. 

Spike sat down on a bench. Pulling his cigarettes out from his coat jacket, his lighter from his pocket, he lighted his cigarette and proceeded smoking. As he sat there he couldn't seem to stop thinking about the bartender. There wasn't anything special about the old geezer. He had bushy gray eyebrows and shiny bald head, but something about his eyes. Those old gray orbs that seemed to stare straight into Spike's soul.

Shivering, the cowboy rose, flicked the half-used cigarette to the ground and stretched. If anything, the old man was right, he had spent way too much time in that bar. But it wasn't wasted time. He had a lot to think about. The past 24 hours had been hectic. Not that he wasn't use to bad days, he seemed to attract them like moths to light. But when you didn't have your friends there to help you through a hard time then it made that bad day seem like a never ending nightmare.

"Who needs them anyway?" Spike said to himself made his way down the cold gray streets. "I don't." Both his arms raised and went to the back of his head as he continued talking to himself. "I'm just fine on my own."

He stopped in his tracks when he realized what he just said. On his own. When had he ever been on his own? He was always surround by people, by friends. Even by his enemies. Nonetheless he was never lonely. Or at least he thought he was never lonely. Was it possible to have so much company around you constantly and to still be alone? Had he been alone all this time but didn't realize it? Certainly if the crew of Bepop were any friends of his they wouldn't have done what they did to him.

Suddenly the sounds of an explosion filled the once empty air and before Spike knew what he was doing his feet were moving underneath him. His eyes caught site of a tower of smoke that hung over a parking lot. Cursing silently to himself he picked up speed. 

"Get outta the way!" Came the shrill cry of a girl as she pushes past Spike and went running into the smoke. 

"Hey!" Spike shouted and followed after her, but once he had entered the black pillar he was unable to see. Not only that but the air was almost unbreathable. He could feel the dirt and debris entering his lungs each time he inhaled. He coughed when he exhaled though, releasing the same toxin's he had breathed in back into the air. 

"If my ship wasn't parked here…" He said as he made his way blindly, but surely through the black smoke.

Something flew past Spike, something fast and so hot that it singed the collar of his jacket. Immediately he reacted and he threw himself to the ground, coughing and eyes brimming with tears. But he found that he wasn't alone on the ground, the same girl who had pushed past him from before was right beside him.

"Hey!" Spike growled. "What's going on here?"

"Who are you?" the girl growled back at him and Spike noticed that she was holding a gun in her hand, which seems to be pointing at nothing in particular.

"My car's parked here!" Spike shouted angrily at her. Who was this girl and what gave her the right to demand questions of him, her elder.

Suddenly the girl's eyes widened. "It's you."

"What?"

The girl drew her attention away from Spike and shot seemingly at nothing. A loud scream was heard and just a few feet in front of them a man appeared and fell to the ground. He was dead. Spike looked at this with astonishment. He then looked to the girl who once again had her gun pointed at nothing. She shot, another man appeared out of no where and fell, and then in one swift motion she pointed the gun at Spike. "Be careful, and trust no one." She then shot. Spike heard a thump and turned to see a dead man on the ground. Turning back to the girl he found that she was gone.

* * *

"Hey Faye, get in here," Jet shouted hovering over the computer. "Yeah looks big this time." Faye walked into the room holding a glass of scotch. "Take a look a this," Jet grinned. Faye moved toward the computer and bent over to get a better view. "Not bad," Faye said sipping on her drink. "Not bad! Are you kidding," Jet growled. "We're talking about seventy-million wulong here and you say _not bad_."

"Not bad," Faye said again walking out of the room. Jet rested is head on his hand and sighed, " There's just no pleasing some people." Jet looked at the bounty again. She was a young girl. Jet couldn't help but feel sorry for her, already involved in crime at such a young age. "But a bounty is a bounty and that's what keeps money on the table," Jet said getting up from the couch and stretching. Still it's hard to believe she could be responsible for the death of so many people, Jet thought giving her picture one more glance before heading off to the kitchen to start dinner. 

Who was that girl and what did she want with him, no use thinking of it now, Spike thought, as he unlocked the door to the room he rented for the night. The room was small and cramped. The ceiling seemed to be extremely low so he had to bend a bit. The room contained only a bed and nightstand, which were practically covered by dusty decaying newspapers. "Wow, isn't this just great," Spike said sarcastically. But this was all he could afford. Spike sighed deeply and shuffled his way toward the bed, bumping his head on the way once or twice. Spike shoved some newspapers off the bed and then plopped himself down. In doing so a big cloud of dust rose up causing Spike to go into a coughing fit. "This sucks!" 

Everything was just going wrong. Absolutely nothing was going his way. But then again, when did anything in his life go as he had planned it.

He smiled up at the ceiling as he announced out loud, "Fate you're a very fickle woman."

Suddenly he feels coolness at the side of his head and turns quickly to find himself looking into the nose of a gun. His eyes go wide when they next fall upon the same girl he had run into earlier that day.

Her eyes narrow as she looks at Spike, her mouth frowning in such a way that it looked as if a smile was as foreign to her face as snow on Mars. But it was the look in her eyes, no matter how hard her expression was, that told Spike Spigel that she wouldn't dare pull that trigger, at least not yet.

"We need to talk." She says and Spike smiles.

"Lady fate, you cease to surprise me." 


	2. Good-bye Ed, Hello Pa.

Good-bye Ed,

Hello Pa.

Chapter 2

Jet walked into Edward's dimly lit room and looked down at the red haired girl who was fiddling with her computer. "Ed, me and Faye are going out. I need you to watch the ship while we're gone, okay."

Ed looked up from her computer that she was almost done repairing. "Ed hungry," she said in a dispirited voice.

Jet scratched the back of his head and gave the girl a sympathetic look. He was hungry too, but they had eaten the last of the food for dinner last night. "You can't be that hungry," he said, trying to be reasonable. "You ate last night."

Edward began to rock back and forth. "But Ed had no breakfast."

"Neither did I, and I'm not hungry." As if on cue Jet's stomach growled. He blushed, then muttered, "We'll have more food as soon as Faye and I catch that new bounty head."

"Ed hungry now."

Jet gave Edward a mildly annoyed look. "And as I just said, we'll have money to buy food just as soon as…"

"Ed hungry now!" Edward fell backwards onto the floor and continued to scream. "Ed hungry now! Ed hungry now!"

Jet's eye began to twitch and just when he was about to say something Faye walked into the room. "What's the commotion about," she asked.

"Ed hungry now! Ed hungry now!"

Faye seeing what the commotion was about became no longer interested in it and changed the subject. "Have you seen my new pair of shoes?"

"No," Jet said. "But now isn't the time to start looking for them. We have to start searching for that bounty head, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Faye said off handily. "Guess I'll go get Spike." A deadly silence fell over the room. Edward stopped screaming and sat up straight. Jet became suddenly interested with the floor, and Faye's face took on a somewhat sad expression. To lighten up the suddenly downcast mood she tried to laugh, but the laugh was hallow. 

^^^^^^^^^^

"Can I get a check," Spike called over his shoulder. "In a minute, Ok," the red headed waitress replied, writing down the orders of another customer. "No it's not Ok," he muttered under is breath. He didn't no why but he was feeling agitated lately. Maybe it was because of the loss of last night's sleep or the unspeakable happening on the bebop. He rested his head on the table, letting out aloud yawn. 

"What's your problem," the girl sitting opposite to him asked. "You look like something out of a horror film." Spike glared at the brown-skinned girl in front of him, who in turn began to giggle, making her short thick black hair brush against the sides of her face. He suddenly knew why he was feeling so agitated.

"Can I get a check," Spike repeated, only this time a bit louder. The red headed waitress stomped over to his table and slammed the bill onto the tabletop. "Happy," she asked. Spike gave her a toothy grin and nodded.

"Hey," the girl said. "I'm not done eating. You can't leave yet." Spike paid her no mind. Reaching into his pocket he took out about twenty-five woolong. "Jerk," the girl managed to say as she quickly gobbled down most of what was left of her food. Still ignoring her, Spike got up and walked away from the table. "You're not leaving without me," the girl shouted, slamming down her fork. She gave the food she had not yet finished a forlorn look before scurrying after Spike.

Spike looked behind him and sighed in disgust when he saw that the girl was following him. "Where are you going now," she asked him.

"None of your business," was his reply. He lengthened the strides of his long legs.

"Hey, wait up!" Running up to Spike the girl grabbed his hand.

Spike stopped walking and looked down at the girl. His eyes were filled with a look that surpassed annoyance. "Stop following me little girl."

"I'm not little, I'm fourteen. And I told you, my name is Claris, not little girl!"

"I'll call you what I like, little girl," Spike retorted flicking her hand away. He then proceeded to walk. He could hear her footsteps behind him. _Who does this girl think she is? First she breaks into my room, points a gun to my head, and demands that I protect her. I don't think so._ Spike figured enough was enough. Turning around he shouted," Stop following me!" She was gone. 

"Are you okay," a man asked tapping him on his shoulder. Spike not being in a social mood at the moment turned to face the speaker and tell whomever it was to buzz-off. However he was silent. Spike was surprised to see the old bartender. "Are you okay," the bartender asked once again. Spike didn't understand why he was so surprised to see him or why the old geezer seemed to care so much about his well being. 

"What's it to you," Spike asked. The old man smiled and walked up to Spike taking his hand into is own. "My name is Marvin, but everyone calls me Pa." Pa released Spike's hand after two good shakes. "You still didn't answer my question," Spike said. Pa chuckled but stopped when he saw the serious expression on Spike's face. Pa apologized, saying he meant no harm. "Well I guess I should go," Spike said turning to leave. Pa grabbed his arm and asked, "How about having a drink with me." 

^^^^^^^^^^^

"Don't lie, I know you know where she is," Faye smiled mischievously. Now if you tell me where this Claris is I'll give you something special." The six-year-old boy burst into tears. "Hey stop that," she said clasping a hand around the boy's mouth. "Now that's enough of that.

"What are you doing with my boy," an extremely large lady screamed. Faye released the boy and he scurried over to his mother. "I said what where you doing to my boy?" She slowly approached Faye, who swore with every step the lady took she could feel the ground move. The woman was now hovered over her. Sweat rolled down Faye's face as her life passed before her eyes. As much of her life she could remember anyway.

^^^^^^^^^^^

He had thought she had disappeared, but when he and this "Pa" turned a corner, there she was with her head popping out a window of a car. "Hey!" she shouted while giggling, one of her arms waving frantically about. 

The old man's face grew hard as he looked at the girl. "Claris," he said in a stern voice, "What have I told you about exposing yourself?" the girl gulps and her arm slumps down. "Now, get back in the car." Like a dog that just received a command from its master the girl obeyed and she disappeared into the interior of the car. Spike smiled, glad to see that somebody was able to control the girl. But when he realized that the girl and the old man must be connected in some way he turned to Pa.

"What is it you want with me?" he asked his long eyes narrowing to tiny slits as he searched the old mans face.

"I want to show you something." Pa answered simply and moved to the back of the car, once there he motions for Spike to follow. Spike contemplated quickly whether or not he should take off that very second and leave that old man and brat behind. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that they wouldn't go looking for him, not if he left the planet. Oddly though, something about Pa reminded him of somebody, he had no idea whom, but that feeling made up his decision to stay, just long enough to see what the old geezer had in the trunk of his car.

Spike slowly made his way over to him, walking as if he had all the time in the world. Once there he looked down and his mouth dropped, his eyes widened. "Th-th-that, that is, that is---"

"A Compulsory Introverted Fusion Gun." The old man said for Spike and then hurriedly closed the trunk back up and quickly locked it. "I know that's a mouth full of words so you can just call it FG."

Spike's eyes were on the exterior of the trunk looking almost as if he was able to see through the black paint and metal to the gun that lay beneath. Panic suddenly shot through him and his head jerked in the direction of Pa. "How did you get that?! There is only one of those in this whole entire universe!" his hands were on his head pulling frantically on his hair. "If somebody sees me with this thing, they'll kill me!" 

It hit him, like a bucket of ice water. So, that's what happened the other day with the girl and that little shoot out in the parking lot, those people were after that gun. With this shocking realization a million questions flooded into Spikes head. Why had the old man left the girl in charge of such a dangerous weapon, one that was powerful enough to blow up a planet the size of Mars? Not only that but how did that same girl and that old man know Spike and lastly, what did they want with him?

^^^^^^^^^^^

"Creeping in the shadows, hidden from all light, in the darkest corners of the Bebop is…Cowgirl Ed! He he he!" Ed bounced around the storage room doing an occasional cartwheel. Not noticing Ein she tripped over him and fell flat on her butt. "Ow Ein," she said rubbing her sore rump. Ein made a whining noise as he tried to untangle himself from Ed's long legs. Ed helped him by picking him up and holding him high above her head. "Are you bored too," she asked tilting her head to the side.

"Arf. Arf."

Ed sucked on the side of her cheeks and thought about what they could do to over come the boredom. "Hmm…dwya wanna find some food?"

"Arf. Arf."

Ed smiled and let Ein fall to the floor. Then quickly getting to her feet she dashed to her room to get ready to go. About seven minutes later, Ed and Ein were off the Bebop and on a motor scooter heading, hopefully, somewhere with food. Ein of course was in a green backpack on Edward's back; head poked out and tongue swaying in the air. They made their way, at moderate pace, into to an area that was filled with the aroma of delicious food. "Oh, Ed's stomach is rumbling."


End file.
